Martin Johnson: Soap opera turns spotlight back on Ponting

After the distraction of a visit from US diva Oprah Winfrey, the Australian media have turned their attention back on their cricket captain

The previous five Ashes series Down Under have been so one-sided that even on
those rare occasions when England enjoyed a halfway decent session, the long
suffering Pommy contingent in the press box braced themselves for the
inevitable patronising comment. An Australian arm would descend upon your
shoulder, followed by a voice, dripping with false sincerity, saying
something along the lines of: “you know, it’s really great to see you Poms
making a bit of a fight of it.”

It was hard, therefore, to resist returning the favour yesterday after
Australia’s last five wickets yesterday mustered 199 runs, compared to the
top order’s 69. It represented a comeback of sorts, but the fact is that all
the warnings about being wary of Australia fighting back hard after Adelaide
proved largely unfounded. In fact, the way they fought for the first half of
the day reminded you of the knight in